Tasting The Wild: Foraged Flavors of Local Plants and Mushrooms

Lanny Kaufer’s Herb Walks series will present Jess Starwood, clinical herbalist and forager of wild medicine, on Saturday, February 9, for a workshop in Ojai entitled ‘Tasting the Wild: Foraged Flavors of Local Plants and Mushrooms.’ Starwood is the owner of SunRaven Apothecary in Thousand Oaks, California where she can be found brewing up herbal elixirs, crafting gourmet wild foods, and teaching classes and workshops on medicinal and edible plants and mushrooms. With her lifelong passion for nature and gourmet food, Starwood has studied holistic health and herbal medicine for over 10 years and has a Masters of Science degree in Herbal Medicine from the American College of Healthcare Sciences in Portland, Oregon. This hands-on workshop follows her well-received presentation entitled ‘Wild Epicure: Infusing Local Flavors and Healing Herbs into Gourmet and Everyday Cuisine for Vibrant Health’ at the first Ojai Herbal Symposium in November 2018. Participants will identify and experience several wild winter plants and mushrooms to be found in Southern California locales this time of year. In the kitchen, Starwood will share for the first time her popular medicinal mushroom chocolate truffle recipe and all participants will go home with some truffles they made by hand themselves, just in time for Valentine’s Day. The group will meet in the morning for an Herb Walk led by Kaufer and Starwood at the Ventura River Preserve followed by the afternoon session in a downtown Ojai kitchen and workshop space. After the workshop, attendees will receive digital notes including recipes, a list of all plants identified and discussed, and PDFs of any slides shown. More details will be provided upon registration. This workshop will go on rain or shine with substitution of morning indoor activities in case of heavy downpour in the morning and/or a 100% chance of heavy rain that morning. The cost of the workshop including all materials is $75. To register, please visit HerbWalks.com or call 805-646-6281. Registrants will receive a confirmation email with all necessary info prior to the event.